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Different news for different views
In a nation of growing red or blue allegiances, the media too are beginning to take on more overtly partisan hues. And it may be reinforcing the political cleavage in the country.
The selective perspectives are evident from coastal lobster-trap country to the land of longhorn cattle.
Up in Bar Harbor, Maine, Michael Boland works overtime during the summer feeding the locals and tourists that crowd into his restaurant, Rupununi's. But no matter how busy he is, he tries to disappear every afternoon at 4:30 so he can head to his office upstairs and tune in to "Democracy Now" on the radio - an unabashedly left-of-center analysis of the day's events.
"I rely on it for my progressive take on the news," he says.
Down in Schertz, Texas, Stace Cunningham is just as determined to get a spin he's comfortable with. He spends most days in his lab, where he's got 15 computers for his work as a security consultant for a Fortune 500 company. But he keeps one computer set to www.NRAnews.com, a website operated by the National Rifle Association, so he can hear an assessment of the world that he believes is truly fair - particularly where gun issues are concerned.
"The show is a breath of fresh air," he says.
From the conservative Fox News Channel to the liberal radio startup Air America to political blogs of every philosophical stripe, Americans can now pick and choose a news source to fit their ideological bent. Even the big screen, these days, offers up politically charged fare - most notably with Michael Moore's "Farehnheit 9/11."
The trend toward partisanship in the media, though nascent, has many political experts worried. If everyone simply reads or listens to news that reinforces their own opinions, there may be less room for compromise - a key foundation of this nation's government. An already polarized country could become even more deeply divided at every level. Already, stories of friends or relatives who can no longer talk politics - because they're ideological opposites - are common water-cooler fare. Signs of the times include caustic political humor and candidates tossing profanities at the other party.
While others admit the growing politicization of news does create potential problems, they instead see the emergence of new sources of information as a welcome expansion of the nation's political dialogue. To them, the high-voltage talk shows and websites are signs of a public increasingly engaged on important issues - from Iraq to the role of religion in society.
Indeed, most Americans who tune into these alternative sources still tap into mainstream media as well. In addition to listening to "Democracy Now," Mr. Boland reads three newspapers a day. And Mr. Cunningham looks forward to the NRA's Cam & Company show so he can compare it with what he sees on the nightly news.
"For democracy, the thing you worry about is a world in which people don't get exposure to the other side," says Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania. "And we're not in that world yet."
Still, there is evidence that the media-browsing public is getting more partisan right alongside the press.
A recent Pew Research Center study found that since 2000, the number of Americans who say they watch Fox News Channel regularly jumped from 17 percent to 25 percent, and most of those new viewers describe themselves as "politically conservative." Struggling against an apparent Republican-viewer revolt, Fox rival CNN has managed to draw in a growing number of Democratic-leaning viewers.
The trend is driven by several factors - some originating with the news outlets and others rooted in the public at large.
On a basic level, more-opinionated news is what the public seems to want in this so-called 50/50 nation, with feelings fanned by battles over the Iraq war, gay marriage, and the Florida recount of the 2000 election. Many see the media as biased and are looking for other sources.
The trend also reflects top-down efforts by both sides to galvanize political support. In a field pioneered by conservatives such as talk radio's Rush Limbaugh a decade ago, Al Franken's Air America radio program is now offering a sharp-edged brand of liberal commentary. And a younger generation is "blogging," creating their own media with like minded people on the Web. Recent limits on political donations have also driven some organizations to try to get their messages out via traditional media. Most notably, the NRA is looking beyond its new radio show toward the possibility of buying a broadcast network.
Technology has also played a role, as TV's once-limited dial has expanded to hundreds of channels, and anyone with a computer is a potential Thomas Paine.
Some analysts think media companies are biased less toward the ideological than the sensational - that which sells papers and causes people to tune in. It's staying in business, not ideology, that motivates most newspapers.
Whatever the reasons, the rise of opinionated journalism appears to have taken a toll on media credibility. In 1987, 58 percent of Americans said the news was objective, according to the Pew Center for the People and the Press. Today, 36 percent say they find that kind of balance when they tune in or pick up a paper.
Still, the nation's news outlets are nowhere near as blatantly political as they were during the country's first 150 years. Publishers such as Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst used their papers to express their own agendas, and those crusades often colored the truth.
Even Thomas Jefferson, one of America's greatest champions of a free press, saw the media's darker side. "Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper," he wrote to John Norvell in 1807 while president. "Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that polluted vehicle."
Today, by contrast, experts say the media's more boisterous partisans are still the exception, not the rule. While many of America's liberal voters thoroughly enjoyed Michael Moore's movie, they'll spend considerably more time with traditional news sources before the election. And where 1 in 5 conservatives say they listen to Mr. Limbaugh or Bill O'Reilly Factor on Fox, 61 percent read a daily newspaper, according to a Pew survey.
Beyond that, no matter what views are being espoused by media opiners, many of them still get their basic news from services like the Associated Press, says Tom Rosenstiel, director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism in Washington. He doesn't believe the trend toward partisanship will infect the whole media, in part, because most local cities and towns have only one newspaper, and that paper is dependent on advertisers. So it's in their best interest to be as objective as possible.
But consumers are more particular about the lens through which they get their information. Cam Edwards, the host of the NRA's Cam & Company, thinks he knows why conservatives are so skeptical and quickly to turn to alternative sources like his show. "If The New York Times or The Washington Post would cover things without leaving out pertinent information, we wouldn't have an audience," he says. "Our listeners can rely on us to give them factual information that they're not getting elsewhere."
Stace Cunningham agrees, which is why he hasn't missed a day since he discovered NRA News on the Web. "For several years, I've felt that what I've heard on the news channels was always tilted toward the very liberal side, and I'm smart enough to figure out there are always two sides to every story," he says. "Take firearms, for example. I've seen plenty of good defensive uses and plenty of bad stuff, but the only thing that gets reported is the bad stuff: You never see when someone saved themselves from getting raped or robbed."
And up in Maine, Michael Boland couldn't disagree more about the bent of the mainstream press. He thinks it leans toward the middle to conservative - leaving out a truly liberal perspective. His primary source of information is The New York Times, which he sees as anything but progressive. He also listens to National Public Radio, another source that is perceived by many as liberal, but he contends has gotten more conservative since the 1991 Gulf War. "For instance, they use the term terrorists to describe some groups that are clearly not terrorists: They're freedom fighters or in a civil war," he says. "I have an ability to read between the lines, but I also think it's really important for us as a country to have good alternative sources of information."
He would also like to see Air America - the liberals' answer to Limbaugh - become more friendly and available to the "average Joe" just as Limbaugh has done. That's some of what comedian and now co-host Janeane Garofalo is determined to do. She's convinced the mainstream media are beholden to economically privileged interests and don't represent most Americans.
"The 'liberal bias' in the mainstream media is a neat trick; it does not exist," says Ms. Garofalo, cohost of "The Majority Report" on Air America. "The conservative movement demands underdog status. It demands that its listeners, whether [they're listening] to Fox or Limbaugh, are the underdogs fighting the good fight against this alleged media bias."
The pitched battle for America's hearts and minds may be intensifying - with skirmishes now in the courtroom as well as on the airwaves. The Democratic group MoveOn.org was scheduled to announce legal action Sunday challenging the Fox network's use of "fair and balanced" as a slogan - a jab at what critics see as a blatant conservative bias on the network.
As liberals and conservatives clash more sharply, some Americans are taking things into their own hands to cut through the bloviation. People like Bryan Keefer. At age 21, he was appalled by the vitriol on both sides of the 2000 election fray over Florida ballots. So he and some friends started spinsanity.com, a blog on the Internet that attempts to cull the wheat from the political chaff. The site took off, and is now a mainstay for many politicos.
"We are specifically nonpartisan, we consider ourselves sort of the umpires, we call it as we see it," he says. They've taken on both Michael Moore's innuendo in "Fahrenheit 9/11" and George W. Bush's selective use of facts - what Mr. Keefer calls the "strategically dishonest talking points."
Every week now in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Spinsanity has a column critiquing two claims, one from the left and one from the right. "We're holding everyone accountable," says Keefer, who is now also the assistant managing editor of CampaignDesk.org, which is run by the Columbia Journalism Review.
Indeed, the public in general likes to see issues debated, rather than spun, in the media, according to a recent Pew study. And not everyone sees the American media going to ruin. Despite all of their failings and biases - liberal, corporate, or conservative - news organizations still maintain independent voices that are accessible, regardless of political leanings.
"The American media is a real treasure. There's nothing else like it in the world - an institution that provides an independent voice is very rare: hard to build, easy to destroy, and hard to rebuild," says Robert Lichter of the Center on Media and Public Affairs. "But you know, the republic did survive for 150 years with a partisan one."
Next in the Continental Divide series: Pennsylvania, where the red-blue battle is up for grabs.


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Congratulations to Robert Gadd and OnPoint Digital for their CellCast Solution as the top global mobile innovation for education or learning. Robert has been one of the mobile industry leaders and visionaries since the early 2000's and is well deserving of this important award.
OnPoint is thrilled with the recognition bestowed on our CellCast Solution by the GSMA and the judges for this year's Global Mobile Award for the Best Innovation in Mobile Learning or Education category. We are proud of our team for all their efforts to drive innovation in our field and for making mlearning a practical reality for enterprise organizations of all sizes.

subset: commoncrawl


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ADOBE BOOKS - MAP As the name implies, Adobe is a bookstore. A damned good one at that, where you can find out of print masterpieces at great prices. They have a tiny, tiny back room where art gets shown that can comfortably accommodate up to four people at a time. Openings are always accompanied by a musical performance and theres always a few cases of free PBR to be dipped into. Adobe is where everyone from Chris Johanson to Barry McGee to Jo Jackson got their start. Art Forum named the backroom gallery one of the best of 2003, and Frieze magazine ran a feature on the gallery Nov. '03. To be honest, I have nothing negative to say about Adobe; this place is great. -Andreas Trolf |
VIEW OUR POPULATED MAP WITH ALL THE GALLERIES WITHIN OUR GUIDE. {moscomment}
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2010 Human Rights Report: Republic of the Congo
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The Republic of the Congo, with a population of 3.7 million, is a parliamentary republic in which most of the decision-making authority and political power is vested in the president and his administration. Denis Sassou Nguesso was reelected president in a July 2009 election with 78 percent of the vote. The country has a multiparty political system although members of the president's Congolese Labor Party (PCT) occupy most senior government positions. The 2009 election was peaceful and the African Union declared the elections to have been free and fair; however, opposition candidates and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) cited irregularities. There were instances in which elements of the security forces acted independently of civilian control.
Principal human rights problems included suspected killings of detainees by security forces; mob violence; beatings and other physical abuse of detainees; rapes; theft; solicitation of bribes; harassment and extortion of civilians by unidentified armed elements; poor prison conditions; official impunity; arbitrary arrest; lengthy pretrial detention; an ineffective and under-resourced judiciary; infringement of citizens' privacy rights; restrictions on freedom of speech, press, association, and movement; official corruption and lack of transparency; domestic violence, including rape; societal discrimination against women; trafficking in persons; discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, particularly against Pygmies; and child labor.
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life
The government or its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings. Prison security personnel allegedly tortured an inmate to death (see section 1.c).
There were no further developments in the January 2009 death in a suspicious house fire of journalist and activist Bruno Jacquet Ossebi, known for his outspoken coverage of government corruption. The death was officially declared an accident and there was no investigation.
Local inhabitants frequently took the law into their own hands to punish persons presumed or known to be police or military personnel who looted civilian residences. The results were death or serious injury. Such incidents were most common in remote areas.
b. Disappearance
There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances.
By year's end no investigation had been conducted into the disappearance of two prisoners, Beni Alex Yandi and Bien Godja, who were assumed to have been victims of extrajudicial execution. The two were detained at the central police station in Brazzaville in October and December 2009 respectively.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
The constitution and law prohibit such practices; however, on September 8, army Lieutenant Ferdinand Bourangon died of torture-induced injuries allegedly perpetrated in Brazzaville's prison. Other unnamed prisoners were also allegedly tortured. No disciplinary action was taken against prison personnel. On December 23, three Congolese human rights NGOs announced their intention to file a lawsuit against the prison's warden, a prison driver, and a police captain for crimes including torture, assault, and murder. The three NGOs were: Association pour les Droits de l'Homme et l'Univers Caceral, Forum pour le Gouvernance et les Droits de Homme, and Obsevatoire Congolaise des Droits de l'Homme.
Several additional cases of alleged torture were reported by local NGOs. Bradi Oboromalekou was arrested in June for selling cannabis and possessing a weapon. While incarcerated, he reportedly was handcuffed behind his back and was continually tortured for two weeks in the Jean Francois Ndengue Commissariat.
In December 2009 Jomael Batantou was arrested and accused of theft after refusing to continue paying a local sergeant a daily ransom. According to local NGOs, he was handcuffed behind his back for two weeks and tortured in the Ouenze Mampassi Commissariat. His release from detention was secured after paying 50,000 CFA ($101) to the Commissariat in May.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions
Prison and detention center conditions were harsh and life-threatening. Most inmates slept on the floor on cardboard or thin mattresses in small overcrowded cells, exposing them to disease. The prisons lacked any significant ventilation, had poorly maintained lighting, had wiring protruding from the walls, and had regular occurrences of plumbing backing up into prisoners' cells. Basic and emergency medical care was limited, and meaningful access to social services personnel was severely limited due to understaffed personnel and the overcrowded prison population.
Out of six prisons, two, one in Brazzaville and one in Pointe Noire, were fully operational during the past two years. Other facilities stopped operating at full capacity in 2008 due to physical deterioration of their premises. By year's end the prison population was approximately 1,000, the majority of whom were awaiting trial for assault and robbery. At year's end the Brazzaville prison, which was built in 1943 to hold up to 150 prisoners, held approximately 600, including 14 women and 11 minors. The Pointe Noire prison, built in 1940, held 300 prisoners. In the Dolisie prison there were 40 to 50 prisoners. The prisons in Mouyondzi and Sibiti held approximately 30 prisoners each. There were approximately 30 more prisoners being held temporarily in the police station in Owando in anticipation of the completion of renovations to the local prison. All of the prisons were remnants of the country's colonial era.
Inmates in Brazzaville's prison were supposed to receive two meals per day. Due to lack of funds, however, inmates in other prisons received one meal per day.
Separate facilities were maintained for women and men. Juveniles were held in a separate wing in Brazzaville's prison, but security measures were insufficient to maintain their isolation from the general prison population. Pretrial detainees were held with convicted prisoners. Prisoners with infectious diseases were kept in one cell, but allowed to interact with other inmates. Most of the cells had a functioning television with cable.
Access to prisoners was conditional on obtaining a communication permit from a judge. The permit allows visitors to spend 10-15 minutes with a prisoner. The visits took place in a small room that held one extended table at which approximately 10 detainees at a time might sit and converse with their visitors. A new permit is required for each subsequent visit with a prisoner. The families of many prisoners were located outside of the cities in which the prisons were located and visits were often infrequent because of the financial hardship involved in traveling to the prison.
The government continued to grant access to prisons and detention centers to domestic and international human rights groups. During the year local human rights groups and NGOs regularly visited prisons and detention centers.
Prisoners and detainees were permitted religious observance. Religious-based charitable organizations visited prisons and detention centers for charitable actions and religious support. Prisoners and detainees are supposed to be allowed to submit complaints to judicial authorities, but in practice this right was not respected. There was no provision for an ombudsman, but defendants with sufficient personal wealth were able to hire private attorneys to serve on their behalf to consider alternatives to incarceration or to alleviate inhumane conditions.
Prior to a trial the government is obligated to provide legal assistance to detainees who lack the financial resources to hire a private attorney, but this was not done in practice. The government neglected to pay its public defenders, and consequently there was a dearth of legal representation for detainees with limited means. The government investigated and monitored prison conditions at the request of local NGOs following complaints from prisoners' and detainees' families. However, little was done to address the penal system's failure to ensure due process for its detainees.
Three minors in the Brazzaville prison were detained for eight months without access to a lawyer and without their cases being heard by a judge. Another detainee was reportedly held for 24 months without being called before a judge.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention
The constitution and law prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention. However, members of the security forces unreasonably and arbitrarily detained persons for minor and often imaginary offenses, mostly traffic related, and required them to pay bribes on the spot as a condition for release.
In 2009 a number of politically motivated arrests occurred in Brazzaville related to the July 2009 presidential elections (see section 1.e.).
In December 2009 Bienvenu Woko was arrested and kept in prison for six months without access to a lawyer or to a member of his family despite the Penal Code's stipulation that detainees cannot be detained for more than 72 hours without being granted access to a lawyer or to a family member.
The representative of a local NGO, the Association Nationale des Gardiens de la Paix, was unlawfully arrested on October 26 by the Chief of the Central Police Station Colonel Jacques Antoine Bouity, after questioning the prison situation and the application of the Penal Code within the various detention centers and prisons.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus
The security forces include the police, a paramilitary unit known as the gendarmerie, and the military. The police and the gendarmerie are responsible for maintaining internal order, with police primarily in cities and the gendarmerie mainly in other areas. Military forces are responsible for territorial security, but some units also have domestic security responsibilities, such as the specialized Republican Guard battalion charged with the protection of the president, government buildings and diplomatic missions. The minister of defense oversees the military forces and the gendarmerie, and the minister of the interior and decentralization oversees the police.
A police unit under the Ministry of Interior and Decentralization is responsible for patrolling frontiers. Another military unit, the military police, is under the minister of defense and composed of military and police officers responsible for investigating professional misconduct by members of any of the security forces. Overall, professionalism of the security forces continued to improve, in large part due to training by the international law enforcement community. The government generally maintained effective control over the security forces; however, there were members of the security forces who acted independently of government authority, committed abuses, and engaged in malfeasance.
Traffic police extorted bribes from drivers under threat of impoundment of their vehicles. Although the Human Rights Commission (HRC) was established for the public to report security force abuses, impunity for members of the security forces remained widespread.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention
The constitution and law require that warrants be issued by a duly authorized official before arrests are made, that a person be apprehended openly, that a lawyer be present during initial questioning, and that detainees be brought before a judge within three days and either charged or released within four months. However, the government habitually violated these provisions. There is a system of bail, but, with 70 percent of the population earning an income below the poverty level, most detainees could not afford to post bail. Detainees generally were informed of charges against them at the time of arrest, but formal charges often took at least one week to be filed. Police at times held persons for six months or longer prior to the filing of charges due to administrative errors or delays in processing detainees. Most delays were attributed to lack of staff in the Ministry of Justice and court system. Family members usually were given prompt access to detainees, and indigent detainees were provided lawyers at government expense.
Arbitrary arrest continued to be a problem. These were perpetrated most often against vehicle operators (mainly taxi drivers) by police, gendarmes, or soldiers. Immigration officials also routinely stopped persons and threatened them with arrest, claiming they lacked some required document, were committing espionage, or on some other pretext to extort funds. Most often these incidents resulted in the bribe being paid; if not, the person was detained at a police station (or the airport) until either a bribe was paid or pressure was placed on authorities to release the individual.
In late 2009 a high-profile arrest of international employees of the petroleum company Chevron highlighted the danger of politically motivated arrests. Members of an auditing team were arrested and detained for several months without being formally charged. High level negotiations between Chevron and the government eventually led to the release of the employees, but the problem of intimidation existed at all levels.
Following the July 2009 elections, the arrests of opposition members Malgala Sabin, Douniama-Etou Jean Ferenzi, and Ernest Ngalou were widely perceived to be politically motivated. Their cases were not brought to court and all three individuals were released. However, the opposition believes that legal procedure was inappropriately implemented and these individuals could be arrested at a future date for the same crimes.
General Ferdinand Mbaou, a loyalist of self-exiled former opposition leader Pascal Lissouba, was released from custody in January after being arrested in July 2009 upon his return to Brazzaville from exile in France.
Lengthy pretrial detention due to judicial backlogs was a problem. Pretrial detainees continued to constitute the majority of the prison population. On average detainees waited six months or longer before going to trial.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
Although the constitution and law provide for an independent judiciary, the judiciary continued to be overburdened, underfunded, and subject to political influence and corruption.
In rural areas traditional courts continued to handle many local disputes, particularly property and inheritance cases, and domestic conflicts that could not be resolved within the family.
The Martial Court, a military tribunal system, established to try criminal cases involving military members, gendarmerie, or police, does not try civilians. The court was believed to be subject to influence and corruption. As part of an investigation into corrupt military payroll practices, the Martial Court continued to garnish the salaries of more than 500 current and former military personnel to recover misappropriated funds.
Trial Procedures
The constitution provides for the right to a fair trial presided over by an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial independence in practice. The legal caseload, however, far exceeded the capacity of the judiciary to ensure fair and timely trials, and most complaints never reached the court system. The Court of Justice has held 111 criminal trials since 2008, when the court ceased to function at normal capacity due to funding and resource constraints. The court resumed its former caseload and processed 84 criminal cases during the year, including cases of misappropriation of public money, murder, rape, armed robbery, infanticide, indecent assault, and arson. In general when trials occurred prior to 2008, and in 2010 when the Court resumed its normal functional state, defendants were tried in a public court of law presided over by a state-appointed magistrate. Juries were used. Defendants had the right to be present at their trial and to consult with an attorney in a timely manner. An indigent defendant facing serious criminal charges was entitled to an attorney at public expense, although this did not always occur in practice. Defendants could confront or question accusers and witnesses against them and present witnesses and evidence on their own behalf. The defense had access to prosecution evidence. Defendants were presumed innocent and had the right of appeal. In principle the law extended the above rights to all citizens and the government generally abided by these provisions.
Political Prisoners and Detainees
There were no reports of political prisoners or detainees. Political prisoners may be detained for up to two months, and this period may be extended to three months by a judge. In practice these laws were not always observed, and the few known political prisoners were sometimes detained for up to six months or longer.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies
In contrast to the criminal courts, the civil court system operates more effectively. Individuals can file a lawsuit in court on civil matters related to human rights, including seeking damages or cessation of a human rights violation; however, no such cases were known to exist. The public generally lacked confidence in the judicial system as a means to address human rights issues.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence
The constitution and law prohibit such actions and the government generally respected these prohibitions.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and of the press, but also criminalize certain types of speech, such as incitement of ethnic hatred, violence, or civil war. The government at times limited freedom of speech and press. These freedoms continued to decline during the year, according to international NGO Freedom House. Broadcast journalists and government print media journalists practiced self-censorship. The nongovernment print media experienced few constraints, as long as their reporting stayed only in print form and was not broadcast.
Individuals could criticize the government publicly or privately without reprisal on relatively minor issues. However, persons feared reprisal if they named high-level officials while criticizing government policies. The government generally did not proactively attempt to impede criticism by, for example, monitoring political meetings, but sometimes punished critics after the fact. Two private newspapers, Le Choc and Le Trottoir, were both ordered to close in May for publishing "illicit" photographs of French President Nicolas Sarkozy and reporting without checking facts. Both newspapers were allowed to resume circulation after two and three month suspensions, respectively.
There was one state-owned newspaper, La Nouvelle Republique, and several publications which were closely allied with the government. There were 40 private weekly newspapers in Brazzaville that criticized the government. Newspapers occasionally published open letters written by government opponents. The print media did not circulate widely beyond Brazzaville and Pointe Noire.
Most citizens obtained their news from radio or television, and in rural areas primarily from government-controlled radio. There were three privately owned radio stations, all progovernment, three government-owned radio stations, and one government-owned television station. There were four privately owned television stations; two of the four stations were sometimes critical of the government. Several satellite television services were available for the few who could afford to watch them.
Government journalists were not independent and were expected to report positively on government activities. However, unlike the previous year, there was no evidence that there were adverse consequences when government journalists deviated from this guidance.
A number of journalists based in Brazzaville represented international media. There were no confirmed reports of the government revoking journalists' accreditations if their reporting reflected adversely on the government's image; however, the government did not repeal the policy that allowed for such revocation. This policy affected journalists employed by both international and government-controlled media. Local private journalists were not affected.
The press law provides for monetary penalties for defamation and incitement to violence.
Internet Freedom
There were no government restrictions on access to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. According to International Telecommunication Union statistics for 2008, approximately 4 percent of the country's inhabitants used the Internet. A greater proportion of the public, especially youth, was accessing the Internet more frequently. However, only the most affluent could afford to access the Internet in their own homes, and the rest of the population used cyber cafes. There were no known documented attempts by the government to collect personally identifiable information via the Internet.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events
There were no government restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
Freedom of Assembly
The constitution and law provide for freedom of assembly, and the government generally respected this right in practice.
Groups that wished to hold public assemblies were required to seek authorization from the Ministry of Interior and Decentralization and appropriate local officials, who could withhold authorization for meetings that they claimed might threaten public order. Unlike the previous year, the government respected this right in practice.
Freedom of Association
The constitution and law provide for freedom of association, and the government generally respected the right of most groups to associate. Groups or associations--political, social, or economic--were generally required to register with the Ministry of Territorial Administration. Registration could sometimes be subject to political influence. There were no reports of discriminatory practices that targeted any particular group.
c. Freedom of Religion
For a description of religious freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/irf/
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of Refugees, and Stateless Persons
The constitution and law provide for freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and repatriation; however, in practice the government at times imposed limitations.
The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
Although the 2003 disarmament agreement effectively ended the organized rebellion in the Pool region, unidentified armed elements believed to be ex-Ninja rebels continued to harass and intimidate citizens. The country's major road and railway connecting the capital Brazzaville to the port of Point Noire traverse the Pool region. As such, banditry in the Pool necessarily limited freedom of movement of persons and goods through much of the country. However, unlike in the previous years, there were no reports of deaths attributed to banditry in the Pool region during the year, and reports of banditry declined.
The Armed Forces and the National Police partnered with the newly created government entity named "Delegation Generale Chargee de la Promotion des Valeurs de Paix et de la Reparation des Sequelles de Guerre" and led by former rebel leader and current high commissioner Frederic Ntumi Bintsamou, to promote peace and repair war aftermath effects. The two operations, namely "Kimia" and "Kidzounou," meaning peace in local languages and launched in September and October, were being reported as successful by various international organizations and NGOs. By year's end the situation in the Pool region had greatly improved. The National Police deployed several units to further secure the area, restore peace, and protect the population and their belongings.
The government imposed an international travel ban on several opposition leaders following a July 2009 protest to contest the announced results of the presidential election. Ange Eduard Poungui, vice president of the Panafrican Union for Social Democracy, opposition leader Matias Dzon, and Emmanuel Ngouelondele, president of the Party for Democratic Alliance, were not able to travel outside the country for more than one year. In July the minister of justice announced that the travel ban was no longer in effect. However, the opposition continued to claim that the travel ban was de facto in effect and that the government would file charges against them on undisclosed grounds if they attempt to leave the country.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not practice it.
The government did not generally prevent the return of citizens, including political opponents of the president. In May former first lady Jocelyne Lissouba returned to the country for the first time since she fled with her husband, former president Pascal Lissouba, in 1997. Jocelyn Lissouba enjoyed a warm reception from President Sassou-Nguesso. Former president Lissouba received a pardon in December 2009, but remained in France for health reasons.
Protection of Refugees
The country's laws provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has established a system for providing protection to refugees. In practice the government provided protection against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.
The country, especially in areas that border the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), received numerous waves of displaced persons in recent years. Between October 2009 and May 2010, nearly 124,000 refugees fled ethnic violence and rebellion in Equateur Province of the DRC to seek shelter in the country's Likouala region.
In June the government signed a tripartite agreement with the government of the DRC and UNHCR that outlined the conditions and means for an eventual voluntary repatriation. The tripartite agreement parties met again in November and agreed on a repatriation roadmap that would begin to repatriate the first group of refugees in April 2011.
Applications for refugee status are handled by the National Refugee Assistance Center (CNAR). The CNAR received 80-90 percent of its operating budget from UNHCR. In 2007 and 2008 the CNAR and UNHCR processed a backlog of around 4,800 asylum seekers that covered the period beginning in 2003. In 2008 there were 993 asylum applications, in 2009 there were 397 applications, and an additional 128 asylum applications were received during the year. At year's end 5,754 individuals were seeking asylum. According to UNHCR, as of December, the country hosted 137,789 refugees and asylum seekers. Refugees and asylum seekers came from the DRC (128,334); Rwanda (7,586); Angola (863); and others (1,006).
Employment opportunities and rights for refugees are not enumerated in law. Anecdotal evidence suggests that quotas and excessive work permit fees limit refugee employment opportunities. A healthcare organization stated that the law requires it to hire the country's nationals for at least 90 percent of its positions. The same organization stated that two-year work permits that cost around 150,000 CFA ($303), roughly equivalent to three months salary, are required.
Gender-based violence was frequent in refugee camps, although a vast majority of the cases went unreported. UNHCR protection officers and medical personnel provided medical, psychosocial, and legal assistance to victims of gender-based violence, including rape. Refugees had equal access to community health centers and hospitals and legal recourse.
Access to secondary education for refugees was severely limited, resulting in many children not attending school. Primary school was funded by UNHCR and made accessible to all refugees during the past year.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change Their Government
The constitution and law provide citizens with the right to change their government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right during the July 2009 presidential election.
Elections and Political Participation
Denis Sassou Nguesso was reelected president in the July 2009 election with 78 percent of the vote. Officially, 66 percent of eligible voters participated in the election, although the opposition estimated the turnout to be much lower. While the election was peaceful, opposition candidates and NGOs criticized the election for irregularities, such as discrepancies between the officially reported rates of voter participation and those observed by independent election observers. The African Union declared the elections to have been free and fair. Prior to the election the EU representative questioned the method of updating the voter registry.
On October 16, a well known opposition group held a meeting to denounce the voter registration process. According to the group's leader, the voter registration list then being drafted was severely blemished by "monstrous manipulations" that included fictitious voters from villages that no longer existed.
Major political parties included the ruling PCT, the Pan-African Union for Social Development, the Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integrated Development, the Union for Democracy and the Republic, the Rally for Democracy and Social Progress, and the Union for Progress. Opposition parties encountered government restrictions, particularly with regard to the right to organize. Opposition parties were restricted from organizing before, during, and after the July 2009 presidential elections.
Following the July 2009 election, the newly appointed government included high-ranking politicians from northern ethnic tribes as well as representatives from other regions and ethnicities.
There were nine women in the 72-seat Senate and nine women in the 137-seat National Assembly. There were five women in the 37-member cabinet.
Some Pygmies were excluded from the political process due to their isolation in remote areas, lack of registration, culture, and stigmatization by the majority Bantu population (see section 6). However, Pygmy rights were strengthened following the parliament's passage of a Pygmy rights protection law on December 27.
Section 4 Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides for criminal penalties for official corruption; however, the government did not implement the law effectively, and officials engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. According to the World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators, government corruption was a severe problem, although the Bank and the International Monetary Fund noted that the government undertook significant reform measures to combat corruption. For example, in February the government undertook an effort to identify and remove payroll salaries of nonexistent civil servants known as ghost workers. It identified 2,700 ghost workers, many of whom were receiving one or more fraudulent salaries in addition to their legitimate one.
There was a widespread perception of corruption throughout government, including misuse of revenues from the oil and forestry sectors. Some local and international organizations claimed that government officials, through bribes or other fraud, regularly diverted revenues from these industries into private overseas accounts before the revenues were declared officially. Pervasive lower-level corruption included security personnel, and customs and immigration officials demanding bribes. During the year there were reports of arrested individuals whose families bribed police to secure their release.
Senior officials were subject to financial disclosure laws. It was unclear if they complied in practice.
The law provides for public access to government information for citizens, noncitizens, and the foreign media; however, in practice there were lengthy delays before the government released information, if it did so at all.
Section 5 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups generally operated, with some exceptions, without government restriction during their investigations and publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials generally were more cooperative with and responsive to international groups than domestic human rights groups. Some domestic human rights groups tended not to report specific incidents for fear the government would impose obstacles to their work.
The government-sponsored HRC is charged with acting as a government watchdog and addressing public concerns on human rights issues. Some observers claimed that the commission was completely ineffective, lacked independence, and was primarily represented by persons who have no expertise in human rights. The president appointed most, if not all, of its members.
On April 30, the designated officers of the HRC met to examine and adopt a 2010-2012 action plan, a detailed program for the commission's activities, and a review of the various representative structures in the country side (other departments, cities and villages); and to create the HRC's documentation center.
On November 18, the HRC visited Brazzaville's prison, but the results of its visit were not published by year's end.
Representatives from the International Court of Justice visited Brazzaville in November 2009 but did not issue any report. Local NGOs had poor access to government officials and detainees.
Section 6 Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law and constitution prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, gender, language, religion, social status, or handicap; however, the government did not effectively enforce these prohibitions. There were documented instances of societal discrimination and violence against women. In addition, regional ethnic discrimination and discrimination against indigenous persons occurred.
Rape, including spousal rape, is illegal; however, the government did not effectively enforce the law. The law prescribes five to 10 years in prison for violators. However, according to local women's groups, the penalties for rape could be as little as several months and rarely more than three years' imprisonment, despite what the law says. Rape was common, although the extent of the problem was unknown because the crime was seldom reported. As of July 2009, the latest period for which such data was available, a total of 182 cases of rape were reported to local police. Fewer than 25 percent of reported rape cases were prosecuted, according to local and international NGO estimates. In August a suspected serial killer who allegedly raped and killed nine women was arrested and detained in the Brazzaville prison, and was awaiting trial for rape and murder at year's end.
Domestic violence against women, including rape and beatings, was widespread but rarely reported. There were no specific provisions under the law outlawing spousal battery other than general statutes prohibiting assault. Domestic violence traditionally was handled within the extended family or village, and only more extreme incidents were reported to the police, a result of victims' fear of social stigma. Local NGOs sponsored domestic violence awareness campaigns and workshops.
Female genital mutilation (FGM) was not practiced indigenously and is against the law. It may have occurred in some immigrant communities from West African countries where it is common. There were no known governmental or other efforts to investigate or combat FGM.
Sexual harassment is illegal. Generally the penalty is two to five years in prison. In particularly egregious cases the penalty can equal the maximum for rape, i.e., five to 10 years in prison. However, the government did not effectively enforce the law. According to local NGOs, sexual harassment was very common but rarely reported. As in previous years there were no available official statistics on its incidence.
There are no laws restricting reproductive rights, childbirth, or timing of pregnancies. There were no restrictions on the right to access contraceptives; however, they were not widely used by the population due to cost. According to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) in 2008, only about 13 percent of married women ages 15-49 used some form of a modern contraceptive method. Health clinics and public hospitals were generally in poor condition and lacked experienced health staff. The UNFPA estimated the maternal mortality ratio (the ratio of the number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births) to be 781 and a woman's lifetime risk of maternal death to be one in 39. According to the Population Reference Bureau, approximately 83 percent of births were attended by skilled personnel.
Men and women received equal access to diagnosis and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. However, HIV-positive persons continued to experience social stigmatization and discrimination that limited their access to these services. The National Committee to Fight AIDS coordinated national policy to counter the spread of the HIV/AIDS virus.
Customary marriage and family laws discriminate against women. Adultery is illegal for both women and men. Polygyny is legal while polyandry is not. The law provides that a legal wife shall inherit 30 percent of her husband's estate. The law limits dowries to symbolic amounts; however, this often was not respected, and men were obliged to pay excessive bride prices to the woman's family. The Ministry of Promotion of Women's Rights was in charge of protecting and promoting the rights of women.
The law prohibits discrimination based on gender and stipulates that women have the right to equal pay for equal work. However, women were underrepresented in the formal sector of the economy. Women experienced economic discrimination with respect to employment, credit, equal pay, and owning or managing businesses. Most women worked in the informal sector and thus had little or no access to employment benefits. Women in rural areas were especially disadvantaged in terms of education and wage employment, and were confined largely to family farming, small-scale commerce, and child-rearing responsibilities. Many local and international NGOs have developed microcredit programs to address this problem, and government ministries, including those of social affairs and agriculture, were also active in helping women set up small income-producing businesses.
Citizenship is acquired by birth in the country as well as from one's parents.
The government does not provide automatic recording of births; it is up to parents to record the birth of a child. Recording is not required, but it must be done to obtain a birth certificate, which is necessary for school enrollment and other services. Pygmies, in particular, were denied social services as a result of not being registered. Those living in remote villages have a difficult time registering, as offices for registration are located only in provincial capitals. The government continued a system of providing free birth registration in Brazzaville, but, as in previous years, the program did not cover other areas.
Education is compulsory, tuition-free, and universal until the age of 16, but families are required to pay for books, uniforms, and school fees. School enrollment was generally higher in urban areas. Although there was no specific data available, Pygmy children were at a disadvantage in school attendance because their parents usually failed to register births and obtain the necessary records. Schools were overcrowded and facilities extremely poor. Girls and boys attended primary school in roughly equal numbers; however, boys were five times more likely than girls to go on to high school and four times more likely to go on to a university. In addition there were reports that teenage girls were pressured to exchange sex for better grades, which contributed to both the spread of HIV/AIDS and unwanted and unplanned pregnancies.
Child abuse was not commonly reported, but was thought to be prevalent. Most reports in previous years involved the West African immigrant communities in the country.
There were cases of children, particularly those who lived on the streets, engaging in prostitution without third-party involvement. The prevalence of the problem remained unclear, although the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimated in a 2007 report that approximately 25 percent of the 1,800 estimated trafficked children were sexually exploited.
A Child Protection Code promulgated in April provides penalties for crimes against children such as trafficking, pornography, neglect, and abuse. Penalties for these crimes range from forced labor, to fines of up to 10,000,000 CFA ($20,200), to prison sentences of several years. The penalty for child pornography includes a prison sentence up to one year and a fine up to 500,000 CFA ($1,010).
The law prohibits child marriage, and the legal age for marriage is 18 years for women and 21 for men. However, marriage at an earlier age is permissible if both sets of parents give their permission; the law does not specify the age in this special circumstance.
International organizations assisted with programs to feed and shelter street children, the majority of whom lived in Brazzaville and Pointe Noire and were believed to be from the DRC, according to UNICEF. Children who lived on the streets were vulnerable to sexual exploitation and often fell prey to criminal elements such as drug smugglers. Many begged, while others sold cheap or stolen goods to support themselves.
The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on international child abduction, please see the Department of State's annual report on compliance at http://www.travel.state.gov/abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport_4308.html.
There was no substantial Jewish community in the country. There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.
Trafficking in Persons
For information on trafficking in persons, please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report at 2009-2017.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons with Disabilities
The law prohibits discrimination against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, or mental disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, or in the provision of other state services, although the government generally did not enforce the law.
There were no laws mandating access for persons with disabilities. The Ministry of Social Affairs is the lead ministry responsible for these issues.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities
The law prohibits discrimination based on ethnicity; however, the government did not effectively enforce this prohibition.
Regional ethnic discrimination existed among all ethnic groups and was evident in government and private sector hiring and buying patterns. The relationships among ethnic, regional, and political cleavages can be difficult to discern. Many of the supporters of the government included persons from northern ethnic groups, such as the president's Mbochi group and related clans.
Indigenous People
According to local NGOs, Pygmies were severely marginalized in regard to employment, health services, and education, in part due to their isolation in remote areas of the country and their different cultural norms. Pygmies were often considered socially inferior and had little political voice; however, in recent years several Pygmy rights groups have developed programs to overcome this. Many Pygmies were not aware of the concept of voting and had minimal ability to influence government decisions affecting their interests.
Some NGOs asserted that many Pygmy groups, who lived primarily in forest regions, did not enjoy equal treatment in the predominantly Bantu society. Indigenous persons were estimated to constitute 10 percent of the population, or an estimated 370,000 persons.
The government disbanded several business operations in northern Congo in which Bantu groups were misusing and abusing the labor of the Pygmy persons. Pygmies were notably more prevalent in the hunting and natural healing professions.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
The constitution prohibits discrimination based on political, sexual, or religious orientation. There was not a large openly gay or lesbian community due to the social stigma associated with homosexuality. A law that was promulgated during the country's colonial era and still in force prohibits homosexual conduct as punishable by up to two years' imprisonment; however, the law was rarely enforced. The most recent arrest under this law was in 1996, when several individuals were arrested in Pointe Noire and briefly detained for homosexual behavior.
There were no known cases of violence or discrimination against gays, lesbians, or transgendered individuals during the year. While discrimination may exist due to the social stigma surrounding homosexuality, no such cases were reported to the NGOs or covered by the media.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination
Public opinion polls show that societal discrimination against individuals with HIV/AIDS is significant. Unlawful divulgence of medical records by practitioners, negligence in treatment by health professionals, family abandonment, and unwarranted termination of employment are all offenses subject to sanctions. Civil society, including persons living with HIV/AIDS, was fairly well organized and sought fair treatment, especially regarding employment. NGOs and the government worked widely on HIV/AIDS issues, including raising public awareness of the fact that those living with HIV/AIDS were still able to contribute to society.
Section 7 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
The law allows workers to form and join unions of their choice without previous authorization or excessive requirements. Workers exercised this right in practice. However, members of the security forces and other essential services do not have this right. Nearly all the workers in the public sector and approximately 25 percent of workers in the formal private sector were union members. The law allows unions to conduct their activities without interference, and the government protected this right in practice.
Workers have the right to strike, provided all conciliation and nonbinding arbitration procedures have been exhausted, and due notice has been given.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
The law also provides for the right to bargain collectively, and workers exercised this right freely, although collective bargaining was not widespread due to the severe economic conditions.
There were no reports that antiunion discrimination occurred. Most trade unions were reportedly weak and subject to government influence; as a result, workers' demonstrations were frequently prohibited, often by the unions themselves. There were no reports during the year of employers firing workers for union activity.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
The law prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children. There were unconfirmed reports that such practices occurred, but, unlike in previous years, no such cases were documented either by the NGOs or the government.
The government has not repealed a 1960 law which allows persons to be requisitioned for work of public interest and provides for their possible imprisonment if they refuse. However, there were no reports of the law ever being applied or enforced.
Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report at 2009-2017.state.gov/j/tip
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment
Although there are laws and policies designed to protect children from exploitation in the workplace, child labor was a problem. The minimum age for employment or internships was 16 years; however, this law generally was not enforced, particularly in rural areas and in the informal sector. Children worked with their families on farms or in small businesses in the informal sector without government monitoring.
The most common forms of child labor were in markets or in the fishing industry, where children were subject to harsh conditions, long hours, and little or no pay. There were no official government statistics on general child labor. However, a 2005 International Labor Organization survey showed that 85 percent of the 47,000 working children resided in rural areas, and just over half (53 percent) were girls who performed household chores or worked in exchange for pay.
The Ministry of Labor, which is responsible for enforcing child labor laws, concentrated its limited resources on the formal wage sector, where its efforts generally were effective. As in previous years limited resources prevented the ministry from carrying out regular child labor inspection trips. Labor inspections occurred during the year, but there were no official data available at year's end. International aid groups reported little change during the year in child labor conditions.
For information on child trafficking see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report at 2009-2017.state.gov/j/tip
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
The national minimum wage, which was 54,000 CFA ($109) per month in the formal sector, did not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. There was no official minimum wage for the agricultural and other informal sectors. High urban prices and dependent extended families obliged many workers, including teachers and health workers, to seek secondary employment, mainly in the informal sector.
The law provides for a standard workweek of seven hours per day, five days a week, with a one-hour lunch break. There was no legal limit on the number of hours worked per week. The law stipulates that overtime must be paid for all work in excess of 42 hours per week; however, there is no legal prohibition against excessive compulsory overtime. Overtime was subject to agreement between employer and employee. These standards were generally observed, and workers were usually paid in cash for overtime work beyond 42 hours per week.
Although health and safety regulations require biannual visits to businesses by inspectors from the Ministry of Labor, such visits occurred much less frequently, and enforcement of findings was uneven. Unions generally were vigilant in calling attention to dangerous working conditions; however, the observance of safety standards often was lax. Workers have no specific right to remove themselves from situations that endanger their health or safety without jeopardizing their continued employment. There were no exceptions for foreign or migrant workers.


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I have spent the last year+ in game killing scores of people, raiding everything of value in sight and taking out all of my threats and enemies. i have grown mostly bored of that and wish to try something different, over the months dozens of people have approached me about wanting to join "my town", as such that time has come.
I will be converting one of my many unused towns into a safe haven for the people on jamestown who wish to grow and prosper in relative peace with the aim of getting the majority of the servers playerbase all in one town/townchat together. i have ran numerous large cities in a variety of other games and i am not exactly a newb at this one either so i know how to keep **** running smoothly and limit sabotage, the only thing that can ***** this project is a lack of participation.
first, the many benefits you receive for being a member of the town.
1> the town will obviously be under my protection. as such with the current server landscape you will be safe from raids and have the time/security to grow your tier3 fields, characters and wealth in a more relaxed environment.
2> this town will grow quickly and will be the largest town (eventually only town) left standing on jamestown. you will have people to play with and talk with instead of playing in the mostly closed environment you have likely been experiencing up to this point.
3> i own the majority of vendor stalls on the server, i only use half of them. part of a thriving server is a robust economy. anyone who is a member of the town and wants to try their hand at merchanting will be able to rent a vendor stall from me for 1500s a week (only 500s above rent)
4> i have my proficiencies high enough to slot most artifacts into most pieces of gear without to much trouble, members of the town will therefore have access to quality equipment at no cost to them beyond the armor/artifices they have chosen to slot. most people do not understand the difference quality gear makes, it is a big one. (note: i will NOT create high end combat sets for new members, only senior members and the town militia)
5> there will be town events and meetings regularly, ranging from the typical dueling tournaments to random other non combat related events that myself or another townmember thinks up.
6> quality members of the town that i see are putting substantial effort into advancing themselves and/or the town, helping newbs in chat, doing tedious construction projects others shy away from, are good at combat and join the town militia etc will be randomly rewarded with things like seeds/humus to boost their characters.
7> everyone that has been a part of the town for a while and proven themselves to be a valuable addition and not a newb that logs on once or twice before quitting will be provided with their own purity compost bins.
8> there is a role for everyone. fighters, raiders, builders, explorers. all are needed for a large town and there will be tasks for all roles. fighters for those who want to defend the town and keep the peace but not raid, raiders for those who wish to help spread the towns influence by raiding resources and destroying our enemies. builders to build the town and other large construction projects that only a town will be able to complete and will leave the legacy of the builders on the server permanently (for one example i think it would be neat to see a 5+ tile wide road that avoids swimming or climbing going from jamestown, to our town, all the way to the western darkness and eventually have other settlements crop up along this "highway") explorers and foragers are always needed to map and discover rare resource nodes.
the negatives of not joining........
1> eventually you will be found, then promptly killed and all your **** broken/stolen.
so yeah, as you can see there are two choices to make. you can either join the winning team and make friends while experiencing a smooth and relaxed rise in power and understanding of game mechanics as you enjoy being a part of "the powerful faction" or continue to wallow in newbville with 100 or less stats by yourself having no fun until we get around to killing you off.
the opportunity for membership is open to everyone from every country, the only requirement is to abide by the rules.
the rules are very simple and straightforward.
1> no killing/stealing/being a general ***** to your fellow townmates. any of this will result in you immediately being killed.
2> actively participate in town events, projects, defense and so on. casual players are fine, leeches or hangarounds that do not advance the town or themselves will not be tolerated.
3> have manners, when someone logs on and says hello respond with something other than silence. when someone does you a favor say thank you. lack of manners pisses me off and if you are consistently a ******** will result in you being killed.
4> you must build a plot in and live AT THE TOWN, i want to create a vibrant and active city. not just have a bunch of people in a chat together and yet still spread all over the map like everyone else's ****** towns
5> you are expected to provide basic security for your plot, with a relatively "open" town there will always be an occasional retard trying to annoy people. have at minimum a locked split rail fence and a few braziers on your plot to prevent being stolen from.
1> those considering joining the town for a chance at killing me do not waste your time not only will i kick your ass anyway but the town will be administered by one of my mid range combat alts. you will never see my primary fighters let alone main characters in the town.
2> those wishing to do things like make a big player claim to disrupt **** will be dissapointed to discover the grounds are checkerboarded with other claims minimizing any annoyance that can be caused, building one on the outskirts in the hopes that i waste large sums of money declaiming it will be ineffective as your claim will simply be cordoned off and built around.
3> those wishing to block the mine with mine supports will not be given the opportunity as ore boulders will be placed outside of the mine by myself or senior members of the town with the actual mine being secured from public access.
in any case this is the cursory announcement, if you want to be a part of this private message me. once i have a decent number of people who wish to join i will launch the town to people who already have characters so that they can settle and begin constructing their plots. shortly after that we will open to the public and create an area for fresh spawns for newbs or refugees from other servers.


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This joyous romp of a musical was loosely based on the novel Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car by none other than James Bond creator himself, Ian Fleming. It stars Dick Van Dyke as eccentric inventor Caractacus Potts and Sally Ann Howes as a very engaging 'Truly Scrumptious'. However, this only begins the list of famous names involved in the production.
Already well known for adapting Fleming's Bond novels to the silver screen, Albert (Cubby) Broccoli was inspired to create a movie version of "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" when he was unexpectedly given Zborowski's original car. Broccoli's wife found it at a London auction and bought it for him as a gift.
Ken Hughes directed "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" and co-wrote the script with popular author Roald Dahl.
Robert and Richard Sherman wrote the musical score for the movie and gained a third Academy award nomination for their work. They had previously won two Academy awards for Mary Poppins. The Sherman brothers went on to write more musical scores than any other song writing team in history. The lyrics to the popular title song can be viewed here - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang lyrics.
This was perhaps one of Helpmann's most famous roles. Children all over the world were terrified by the sinister character he portrayed (a creation of Roald Dahl's) and many adults continue to be haunted by him!! The Child Catcher has been named one of the scariest characters ever to be brought on screen and made it to number 37 on Channel 4's 100 Scariest Movie Moments.
Actor turned movie director Jefferies is actually a year younger than Dick Van Dyke and had to apply lots of prosthetic make-up in this movie to make himself look older.
Benny Hill is perhaps most famous for "The Benny Hill Show" made up of comedy sketches so it is unusual to find him in a dramatic role.
Barbara Windsor best known for Eastenders and the Carry On Films makes a brief appearance as the wife of Arthur Mullard (the man subjected to Pott's hair cutting machine).
Phil Collins claims that he was one of the children who stormed the castle at the end of the movie but was edited out because of a large and unsightly bandage covering a cyst that he had!
Truly Scrumptious drives a yellow Humber 1909 in the movie. The number plate of this car was "CUB 1" a nod to producer "Cubby" Broccoli.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car used in the movie, took seven months to build.
The Queen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles and Princess Anne all attended the movie premiere at the Odeon in Leicester Square. It was the first time that they had ever appeared together at a movie opening night.
The Chitty Chitty Bang Bang movie is 144 minutes in duration (2 hours 24 minutes) and was attacked by its critics for being over long. This did not stop it from becoming a childrens' classic!
Chitty Chitty Bang bang was filmed at a variety of different locations from Buckinghamshire and Beachy Head to Bavaria and Rothenburg ob der Tauber. The famous Neuschwanstein castle, in Bavaria has been used for other movies such as "The Timekeeper", "Escape from Colditz" and "Ludwig". It is also a candidate to be part of the New Seven Wonders of the World. The windmill which was the Potts home in the movie is called "Cobstone mill" and is situated in Ibstone, Buckinghamshire.
In the book, Caractacus Potts was married. In the movie he is a widower and the character "Truly Scrumptious" is created to be his love interest.


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Palmetto Clean Energy Inc. (PaCE), a South Carolina program designed to promote the development of renewable energy resources, is seeking renewable energy certificates (RECs) from renewable energy generators located in South Carolina.
The request for proposals (RFP) seeks RECs from facilities that deliver energy or will deliver energy to Duke Energy Carolinas LLC, Progress Energy Carolinas Inc. or South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. this year.
Eligible resources include wind, solar, geothermal, hydropower, biopower, wastewater methane, landfill gas, biodiesel to electricity, and electricity generation from fuel cells and hydrogen-powered generators, provided that the fuel source is renewable.
In addition, PaCE requires that the renewable energy generation facility be located in South Carolina.
More information on the RFP is available here.


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This website disseminates official statistics on disability produced by Istat and institutions belonging to the National Statistical System. The available data have been processed and organized by Istat in the information system with the aim of documenting the living conditions and the level of social inclusion of people with disabilities and to provide support for the planning of the policies and monitoring of the UN Convention. Therefore, the information system has as privileged users the policy makers, the scientific community and, more generally, the stakeholders in the sector.
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